Advance file photoRep. Michael McMahon says he has steered $175 million in stimulus money to Staten Island to replace the 60-year-old bus ramps at the ferry terminal.

Some Staten Island projects mired in bureaucratic quicksand should soon be moving ahead thanks to federal stimulus package funding, the Advance has learned.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will foot the bill for new ramps at the St. George Ferry Terminal, freeing up tens of millions for the city will use to put retail shops at the transportation hub and rehabilitate bridges on the Staten Island Railway, a representative from Rep. Michael McMahon's office said.

Six million will go toward the infrastructure for the retail shops, while $8.2M will go toward the railway bridges. Construction for the terminal project is expected to be bidded out this winter.

McMahon (D-North Shore/Brooklyn), who sits on the U.S. House of Representative's Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said he was successful in steering $175 million to the Island to replace the 60-year-old bus ramps at the ferry terminal. That money will help free up about $15 million to complete the long-awaited project to put retail shops and restaurants there, and to provide maintenance to 11 bridges on the SIR.

According the spending guidelines, the first 75 percent of the funding must be spent within 120 days. Along with the St. George terminal ramps, that money will be used to rehabilitate the Brooklyn Bridge. The remaining 25 percent will be utilized for about a dozen other bridges, including the Greenpoint Avenue bridge in Brooklyn.